At 11am on a Monday, at the corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keeton, it s quiet.
UT classes remain predominantly virtual, so a lot fewer students mill about. There s still enough, however, to stop and gawk when a white van emblazoned
Austin Music Awards Winner Wagon pulls up honking.
A bow-tied
Kevin Curtin then hops out with a wireless mic to deliver the award for Best Radio Personality to
Laurie Gallardo. I was like, Those people are [coming] to kill me! laughed the deejay afterward about the windshield tassels and spare tire strapped on top of Curtin s former Houston PD van.
The Johnson’s Backyard Garden stand at the Texas Farmers’ Market on Sunday at Mueller (Photo by David Brendan Hall)
After the devastating winter storm system that sustained freezing temperatures and knocked out power and water across Central Texas, regional farmers and ranchers experienced extraordinarily harsh conditions, which in turn affects our entire local food system.
Nora Chovanec, deputy director of the Texas Farmers Market, explained, Being a farmer in general is really difficult, but in Central Texas we have two growing seasons, and our markets stay open year-round (unlike in the Northeast, for example). So our farmers don t necessarily take a lot of breaks. They are used to dealing with inclement weather – we have freeze cycles and drought cycles; it really runs the gamut – but this was an incredibly unprecedented event. Usually when there s a flood or a freeze, out of our ag producers, we ll see a couple of them who are affected by whichever
(l-r) Sister/brother chef/grill master duo Ann Marie and Warren Dyer, with their mother (and co-operator/kitchen matriarch) Melda Morris (Photo by David Brendan Hall)
Several of Jamaica s signature dishes are well-known global favorites: jerk chicken, curries, fried plantains. But the Caribbean island s diverse cuisine, which rests on the shoulders of long-standing recipes influenced by the country s complex colonial history, is harder to fully grasp. Detailing that legacy would require a whole newspaper s worth of explanation, but it can be summed up by the official Jamaican motto, Out of many, one people. Family operated food truck Kings & Queens Jamaican Cuisine, based at the Old Gin Pfood Court in downtown Pflugerville since October 2019, masterfully incorporates that culmination of immigrant stories from across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East in its piquant plates and the owners broad ancestry.
And they
want you to forget.
I mean the people responsible – no, not for the weather but for the mismanaged response before, during, and after last week s winter storm catastrophe. That includes ERCOT and the energy providers who failed to adequately upgrade and winterize their equipment despite experience with a similar storm in 2011. And it includes the people running the government who show very little interest in actual governance, and have indeed actively campaigned on the promise of minimal government.
Today (Thursday, Feb. 25), the Texas House of Representatives Committee on State Affairs and Energy Resources will hold a joint public meeting to receive testimony on the statewide electrical blackouts; the response by the energy industry; and what changes are needed to avoid another energy crisis. You can watch the live broadcast at house.texas.gov/video-audio.
Trasell Underwood doesn t know how hard it will be yet.
Underwood adopted her son when he was 5 months old; she says his birth mother was using drugs during pregnancy, and she was concerned from the outset about his potential disabilities. When her son was in prekindergarten, she felt her toddler was even more hyperactive than toddlers typically are, and had him independently tested for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). She brought the results to the special education staff at Pecan Springs Elementary, who concurred. But diagnoses change as kids grow and develop, and sometimes that growth highlights new needs to be addressed by parents and teachers. That s why the law requires reevaluation for special education students every three years.